THE EDUCATIONAL EXPERIENCES OF REFUGEE CHILDREN IN COUNTRIES OF FIRST ASYLUM SARAH DRYDEN-PETERSON NATIONAL CENTER ON IMMIGRANT INTEGRATION POLICY The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum Sarah Dryden-Peterson October 2015 Acknowledgments This report was prepared for a research symposium on young children in refugee families, held at the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) on February 25, 2015, with support from the Foundation for Child Development (FCD). This series explores the well-being and devel- opment of children from birth to age 10 in refugee families, across a range of disciplines, including child development, psychology, sociology, health, education, and public policy. The research that informed this report was funded by the Fulbright Commission, the Mel- lon Foundation, the Harvard Graduate School of Education, the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and the International Rescue Committee (IRC). The author wishes to thank the children, families, and other community members who have been involved in field-based research and those who contributed to data collection, including Jacques Bwira, Kyohairwe Sylvia Bohibwa, Elizabeth Adelman, Michelle Bellino, Vidur Chopra, Negin Dayha, Joanna Rahman, and the students of the Education in Armed Conflict class at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (2013, 2014). © 2015 Migration Policy Institute. All Rights Reserved. Cover Design and Layout: Marissa Esthimer, MPI Cover Photo: J. Ose, UNHCR Ethiopia No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopy, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the Migration Policy Institute. A full-text PDF of this document is available for free download from www.migrationpolicy.org. Information for reproducing excerpts from this report can be found at www.migrationpolicy.org/about/copyright-policy. Inquiries can also be directed to: Permissions Department, Migration Policy Institute, 1400 16th Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20036, or by contacting [email protected]. Suggested citation: Dryden-Peterson, Sarah. 2015. The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum. Washington, DC: Migration Policy Institute. Table of Contents Executive Summary ..................................................................................................................................... 1 I. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................. 2 II. Background: Refugee Children in a Global Context ................................................ 3 III. Methodology ............................................................................................................................................. 5 IV. Findings ......................................................................................................................................................... 6 A. Limited and Disrupted Educational Opportunities ......................................................................... 6 B. Language Barriers to Educational Access ......................................................................................... 8 C. Inadequate Quality of Instruction ..................................................................................................... 10 D. Discrimination in School Settings ..................................................................................................... 11 V. Conclusions and Policy Recommendations ...................................................................14 Appendix .............................................................................................................................................................. 17 Works Cited ...................................................................................................................................................... 18 About the Author ......................................................................................................................................... 21 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE Executive Summary Past experiences can affect how children encounter school and the relationships they form with their teachers and peers—and this is especially true for refugee children, whose pre-resettlement histories can teachers and school staff by factors such as language barriers, privacy concerns, cultural misunderstand- have significant ramifications for their academic careers. Yet these histories are often hidden from U.S.- gee children’s sense of belonging and relationships with teachers and peers, as well as the provision of ings, and stereotypes. Gaps in understanding about resettlement histories can negatively affect refu adequate academic and psychosocial services. postarrival experiences, with little attention to educational experiences in the children’s countries of The existing literature on the education of refugee children in the United States focuses primarily on - origin and first asylum. This report seeks to address this gap by drawing on United Nations High Commis sioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data on access and quality of education, and more than a decade of in-depth qualitative field-based research on the educational experiences of young refugee children in countries of- first asylum prior to arrival in the United States. The fieldwork examined refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Uganda and Burundi, Somali refugees in Kenya, Rohingya refugees in Bangla desh and Malaysia, and Syrian refugees in Egypt. Many refugee children experience frequent disruptions and limited access to schooling. The prior schooling experiences of refugees have considerable implications for postresettlement educa- tion in the United States. First, many refugee children experience frequent disruptions and limited access to schooling. The enrollment rates of refugee children fall far below those of other children globally, and disruptions leave many behind their age-appropriate grade level. Secondary-school enrollment rates are very low for refugee children in some first-asylum countries: about 10 percent in Kenya and Pakistan, and less than 2 percent in Malaysia. Several factors impede refugees’ enrollment, including living amid acute conflict, legal restrictions on enrollment and frequent moves within first-asylum countries, and fear of exposure to immigration enforcement and other authorities. access instructional content taught in a language other than their own, or in an environment with limited Second, refugee children often encounter language barriers in school. Refugee students may struggle to - - resources to support language learning. Refugees in the same classroom may speak several different lan guages, requiring multiple interpretations and slowing or even impeding instruction. To complicate mat terspolicy further, shifts UNHCRoften mean and thathost-country refugees arepolicies exposed on the to multiplelanguage languages of instruction—that and attain academicis, whether mastery to teach of refugee children in their origin-country or host-country language(s)—have changed over time. These none. For instance, one student interviewed during fieldwork followed a Tanzanian curriculum in English and Swahili during primary school; began secondary school following a Burundian curriculum officially in French and Kirundi, but with teachers using mostly English and Kiswahili; and completed secondary school following a Congolese curriculum in French. As this example illustrates, teachers may struggle to use the official languages of instruction and use their own primary language instead, which can further compromise the quality of instruction. Third, refugee education is of low and uneven quality globally. As a result, even those resettled refugee children who have been able to access education in countries of first asylum are likely to have skills and knowledgethe share of far teachers below inthe refugee expected classrooms grade level with for appropriate their age. Student-teacher professional training ratios areis rising, very highin most in most coun - refugee schools, and in some countries these ratios are nearly twice the UNCHR guideline of 40:1. While The Educational Experiences of Refugee Children in Countries of First Asylum 1 MIGRATION POLICY INSTITUTE - triestered of instruction first asylum often it is predominates still well below in therefugee UNCHR classrooms, goal of 80 with percent. teachers For instance,lecturing thealmost share all of the Kenyan time teachers with professional training in refugee classrooms only recently rose to 60 percent. Teacher-cen and offering very few opportunities for students to ask questions or engage in creative thought. Finally, refugee students face a number of different forms of discrimination in first-asylum country schools. These schools often have curricula emphasizing the host country history and culture, while neglecting refugees’ origin countries. Refugees may be singled out because of their nationality, and in cases where refugees are associated with terrorism or other threats (e.g., Somali refugees in Kenya and Syrian refugees in Egypt), they may face outright hostility and bullying. Refugee students face a number of different forms of discrimination in first-asylum